Anderson is no quiet lame duck

Time flies when you're making waves.

In only half a year, the sun will set on Rocky Anderson's eighth year as Salt Lake City's mayor. The two-term mayor announced last year that he is not running for re-election, and despite recent media reports to the contrary, he says that hasn't changed.

"I don't know why people think they know more about what I'm going to do than I do," the mayor said Thursday.

Several media outlets have reported that Anderson is leaving open the possibility that he would run a write-in candidacy if the Sept. 11 primary election ends with two victorious candidates he doesn't like. Anderson admitted he thinks about it "occasionally — it's tough to walk away from this, especially given the amazing team we have and a lot of the changes that we've been able to accomplish."

However, Anderson said the story was sparked by untrue rumors and nothing has changed since he announced in July 2006 he would not run. He said he remains focused on plans to put together a nonprofit human rights and environmental advocacy organization after he leaves office.

But whether he's running or not, don't expect the next six months to be quiet ones for Anderson.

During his tenure as mayor, Anderson has had a tumultuous relationship with the City Council, often decrying its members as too conservative, stubborn and resistant to some of his goals. Council members, for their part, have criticized the mayor for his time spent out of his office when he has traveled to lecture on global warming or to protest the war in Iraq.

He has clashed with people outside the council, as well, from legislators to reporters to developers. Most recently, he and Wasatch Property Management owner Dell Loy Hansen faced off in the hallways of the City and County Building, shouting accusations at each other after a tense Redevelopment Agency meeting over a planned Wasatch office tower.

But as the race to replace him rages on and his days in office wane, Anderson isn't worried about being treated like a lame duck.

"I don't think it could get much worse with this council," he said. "They're very slow and very indecisive. I hate to paint with a broad brush, but the majority of the council have been extremely difficult to move toward the kinds of improvements that I think ought to be embraced in this community."

Anderson has created a list of about 100 priorities he hopes to accomplish before he leaves office. He wants to start a Sunday Farmers Market at the city's west-side Jordan Park, complete the Grant Tower rail realignment and replace the light bulbs in all city-run buildings with more efficient types. He also has broader aims, which include explaining to the general public ways to combat global warming.